Paths of the Force
by hxazgalor
Summary: A compendium of one-shots set in the TFA universe, featuring OCs and alternative plotlines to Eps VIII & IX. Possibility of romance? Low. Reviews for this first-time writer are most welcome.
1. Kylo Ren I

Cold.

It was cold.

Kylo Ren was rather surprised that he felt it. As he lay there on the ground, weakened, dazed, so effortlessly cut down by that scavenger girl's lightsaber - rightfully _his_ lightsaber - even as Starkiller Base was on the verge of total annihilation, all he could think of was how cold it was.

He could hear the earth shattering beneath him, around him, as Starkiller Base consumed itself from the inside, threatening to take him with it. The Resistance had dealt the Order a severe blow, and Supreme Leader Snoke would undoubtedly be... _most_ displeased. Kylo felt a shiver run down his spine at the thought of Snoke's displeasure. There would be much he would have to answer for when he meets his master.

 _If_ he meets his master.

Hux would be looking for him by now. Though he couldn't sense any stormtroopers making their way to where he lay, he knew they would seek him out before the Base was lost. But... what if they didn't? What if Snoke decided to leave him to die, a failure amongst the Knights of Ren? Was that his ultimate fate? Would he be a miserable example of the price of failure?

Cold.

Kylo coughed, spitting blood, and he sighed weakly, unable to get up. The wounds immobilized him; the blaster shot that caught him in his side now flared with immense pain, held back as he fought the traitor and the girl. But now that she had struck him so... the wounds seemed to have intensified the pain coursing through his body.

Or perhaps it was the humiliation that hurt him even more than the physical wounds did.

He reached out with the Force, as best as he could, even in his weakened state. Perhaps he could direct the search party his way, if there indeed was one. _No_ , he thought, _there_ will _be one. They will not leave me behind_.

It was then he sensed something else. No, some _one_ else. Close. Very close.

In the corner of his eye, he saw a figure move towards him, clad in black. Who was that? Could it be Hux? No, something doesn't seem right. A vision? A trick of the mind? There seemed to be a... familiar aura, emanating. It reeked of the dark side. But there was... something else. Something different.

 _Grandfather?_

He tried to utter the word that had crossed his mind, but he could barely make a sound, the words stuck in his throat. He saw the figure walk ever closer to him, taking slow, purposeful steps. It wore a black cloak, and... boots? It seemed to Kylo that those may be boots. He couldn't think straight; the pain ate away at him.

The silhouette stopped moving, so very close now, just by Kylo's legs. It knelt, and Kylo struggled to look at it, even as his eyes faltered in the chill, the pain, the scar that ran along his face, nearly blinding him. His vision was blurry now, and he couldn't recognize the face that now looked upon his sorry state.

He tried to speak again. He managed to stutter something, vaguely coherent, but the pain again overwhelmed him.

"Kylo Ren," the black figure spoke.

At that moment, Kylo knew it wasn't Darth Vader who had come to him.

"Who...are y-you...?" he managed to say, gathering what strength he had left to speak. He grimaced as the pain lanced once again across his every nerve fibre.

"I am Cain," it replied, its gaze afixed on Kylo. "I was a... _friend_ of Vader."

"You... knew my... g-grand...f-father?"

"To some extent, yes."

Kylo wanted to ask more, but his words faltered, his strength slowly slipping away from him. Darkness was beginning to envelop what vision he had left...

In the distance, Starkiller Base rumbled its death throes. But Kylo could hear the sound of engines...

"Rest, Kylo of the Knights of Ren. You will not die here; the First Order still needs its greatest champion. You will not go quietly. And before long, the galaxy will know your name; they will remember you, _fear_ you, and you will do your grandfather proud."

Kylo could not resist anymore, and the darkness overpowered him, just as he saw the bright lights in the sky, the thunderous roar of ion engines, descending from the heavens to where he rested now. He knew Hux had not abandoned him, nor would the Order abandon him...

"Master..." Kylo croaked.

He could barely hear the stranger's last words as sleep claimed him.

"Sleep now, _Ben Solo_. Sleep, and when you wake..."


	2. Luke Skywalker I

"I have little time for your games, Lord Cain."

A weary Luke turned to face the hooded man before him, his hand close to his lightsaber.

"This is no time for games, Skywalker," Cain replied, matter-of-factly, standing calmly before the old Jedi Master. "You know very well that Snoke's plans will not stop until you and the Resistance has been crushed."

"The Order will not find me here," Luke replied, annoyed. "No one will-"

"Unless," Cain interrupted, "they find the star map that you oh so _conveniently_ left behind, in the hopes the Resistance - or your sister, Leia - can find you again."

Luke remained silent, his eyes glaring hard at the black-cloaked man standing in front of him, staining the surroundings with the taint of the dark side. To think that a Sith was now warning him of the future's uncertainty in the wake of Starkiller Base's destruction. Something wasn't quite right, and yet...

This enigma, Cain... Sith he may be, but something really didn't sit right with Luke.

"How can I trust you?"

Cain seemed to chuckle at Luke's question. " _Can_ you?"

"What choice do I have?"

Again, Cain scoffed. "Do you _have_ to make a choice, Master Luke?"

 _Confound it_ , Luke cursed. Cain is playing games with him, and he seems to be relishing this fact.

"You can no longer run from the past, Skywalker," Cain continued, pacing closer to where Luke stood. "Young Kylo Ren may have ended the new hope you longed to build, but it is not over yet."

"I fear the Jedi legacy has ended before it could even begin."

"Your pessimism intrigues me, Skywalker."

"How so?"

"You lose the Academy to a handful of upstarts, who proclaim themselves 'Knights of Ren', take up lightsabers against you, and serve a dark master of unknown origin-"

"As are _you_ , Darth Cain."

Cain nodded. "True, I will not deny that. However-"

Luke turned away, his back to Cain, as he gazed out to Ach-to's cloudy horizon.

"Even if - and I say, _if_ \- the Jedi could return, Snoke and the First Order are still waiting for the chance to strike us. With the Republic shattered by Starkiller Base, a new Academy would be far more vulnerable to their predations. And as you say it, they are still seeking me out, determined to end the Jedi heritage once and for all, and birth a new Empire from the ashes of the New Republic."

Luke glanced back at Cain, sighing. "You had best leave me be, Darth Cain; regardless of your intentions, you intrude on my meditations."

"Sooner or later, you will have to act," Cain replied nonchalantly.

"It can wait for now."

"The girl will arrive soon, and then you will have no other choice."

Luke's eyes narrowed. Did he hear that correctly?

"What do you mean, Cain?"

"Do not presume to take me for a fool, Skywalker," Cain answered, his voice full of disdain. "You felt the awakening, as did I. And you _know_ she exists. You _know_ her power. And... perhaps, you know who she truly is."

Luke did not say anything, merely regarding his 'guest' with questioning eyes. Eventually, he sighed again, turning away and returning to where he stood earlier, continuing to watch the quiet horizon.

"Consider yourself forewarned, Master Luke."

Luke felt Cain's dark presence vanish into thin air, and he need not turn around to confirm it. His mechanical hand fiddled with the lightsaber hanging from his belt as he wondered what he had to face next.

He would find out two days later when she appeared, his lightsaber in her hand.


End file.
